Florence, the statue of David

No trip to Florence is complete without seeing David at the Galleria dell’Accademia. Wow!

I took some shots I knew would be less than common, let’s face it this statue has been shot more times than an Italian has said, “Mamma Mia!”. So I went for the back and side shots mostly.

Not much more to say here except having a reservation was key, even in the winter, but I reckon the summertime it would be an absolute must. The Accademia is in the middle of a residential neighborhood, so don’t bother driving, take a bus or tram in, you won’t regret not having to look for parking.

So, rear shot first:

Statue of David viewed from the back

David’s proportions are Goliath like, but also relaxed so he looks much less like the brutal, giant adversary than the calm, conquering shepherd:

The hands are very large, supposedly because this statue was to grace the top of the Duomo until someone thought it would be much better in front of the Palacio Vecchio (maybe a Medici) to show the creative might of Firenze back in the Renaissance.

Statue of David viewed from the front, yes it’s been done before

I kid you not Alice and I spent at least 45 minutes to an hour looking at this statue, it draws you in with its proportions that feel both completely normal and completely exaggerated at the same time. David’s head is gigantic compared to his body, but his muscles are so well defined your brain considers it normal, or something like that. 🙂

Statue of David viewed from the left side

What an amazing place, the Accademia, so much more art in here, and all the old school works from students who have attended this old school through the ages, we got a real lesson in how copies were made of statues – make a plaster of paris cover/mold then fill that with another type of plaster and voila!

Constantly we are amazed how much there is to learn in Firenze. If you can, grab the book I read while I was here, The House of Medici: Its Rise and Fall. I felt much better informed with that historical background, and the walking tour we took and everything we saw made so much more sense.

Statue of David viewed from the front, standing in the hallway before the statue